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CONGRESSIONAL HEALTHCARE SCAM: DEBATE & SWITCH

Once again the lack of GOP discipline can be laid directly at the Senate leadership when Mitch McConnell has little control over his flock.

For years the GOP implored “We the People” to give them the House, then the Senate, and finally, the Presidency. All based on five promises: one, to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia with a textual conservative; two, the enforce the laws of the land first, re-establish border control as a matter of national security, and provide immigration reform; repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act that featured outrageous premiums, deductibles, and co-pays; and four, to enact tax reform; and five, to reduce the size of government and bring spending under control. Nothing more, nothing less.

So on the healthcare front, we find the GOP trying to wrangle enough votes to pass some flavor of health care legislation. To do this, they have decided to provide a menu of items that allows almost anyone to vote for something – enabling them to return to their “constituents” with some indication of progress.

The three choices:

Option One: A complete repeal and replace bill – which is unlikely to proceed in the Senate because it is incomplete, lacks the competitive provisions that would allow for insurers to enlarge their risk pools by competing across state lines, and is full of special interest-driven nonsense with unintended consequences.

Option Two: A repeal without any replacement.

Option Three: A limited repeal that only removes the mandate that people have to purchase health care insurance and reduces or eliminates some of the embedded taxes. Without the mandate, Obamacare will implode, as Obama himself correctly recognized.

Not so long ago, the Republicans passed a bill removing the mandates and leaving the rest of the legislation intact. Of course, then President Obama threatened to veto any such legislation, and the bill died. Since the Republicans did pass the bill, there should be on qualms or reservations about voting, at least, for option three.

Bottom line …

While the pundits and chattering class is hailing this trickery as a bold masterstroke created by Senate Majority Leader McConnell, most will see it for what it is – an act of cowardice on the part of the GOP. No matter what happens – even if Obamacare sinks under its own weight – the progressive socialist democrats will blame all of the misery and suffering on the GOP and will most likely use health care and immigration to reestablish their old, corrupt coalition.

We are so screwed.

-- steve

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

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CONGRESSIONAL HEALTHCARE SCAM: DEBATE & SWITCH

Once again the lack of GOP discipline can be laid directly at the Senate leadership when Mitch McConnell has little control over his flock.

For years the GOP implored “We the People” to give them the House, then the Senate, and finally, the Presidency. All based on five promises: one, to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia with a textual conservative; two, the enforce the laws of the land first, re-establish border control as a matter of national security, and provide immigration reform; repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act that featured outrageous premiums, deductibles, and co-pays; and four, to enact tax reform; and five, to reduce the size of government and bring spending under control. Nothing more, nothing less.

So on the healthcare front, we find the GOP trying to wrangle enough votes to pass some flavor of health care legislation. To do this, they have decided to provide a menu of items that allows almost anyone to vote for something – enabling them to return to their “constituents” with some indication of progress.

The three choices:

Option One: A complete repeal and replace bill – which is unlikely to proceed in the Senate because it is incomplete, lacks the competitive provisions that would allow for insurers to enlarge their risk pools by competing across state lines, and is full of special interest-driven nonsense with unintended consequences.

Option Two: A repeal without any replacement.

Option Three: A limited repeal that only removes the mandate that people have to purchase health care insurance and reduces or eliminates some of the embedded taxes. Without the mandate, Obamacare will implode, as Obama himself correctly recognized.

Not so long ago, the Republicans passed a bill removing the mandates and leaving the rest of the legislation intact. Of course, then President Obama threatened to veto any such legislation, and the bill died. Since the Republicans did pass the bill, there should be on qualms or reservations about voting, at least, for option three.

Bottom line …

While the pundits and chattering class is hailing this trickery as a bold masterstroke created by Senate Majority Leader McConnell, most will see it for what it is – an act of cowardice on the part of the GOP. No matter what happens – even if Obamacare sinks under its own weight – the progressive socialist democrats will blame all of the misery and suffering on the GOP and will most likely use health care and immigration to reestablish their old, corrupt coalition.